Chester
City

Elected to Division Three (North) 1930.
Relegated to the Conference 2000.

Promoted to Coca Cola League Two 2004. Relegated to the Blue Square Conference 2009.

Kit History

Chester Rovers

Date of formation unknown

1884-1885a

Chester

1885-1898

Formed by merger of Chester Rovers & Old King's Scholars

Club wound up 1898

1885b

1889-1890a

1896-1897a

Chester

1901

1901-1902b

1904-1905b

1905-1912b

1912-1913b

1919-1920b

1920-1930a

1930-1931a

1931-1932d

1932-1933b

1934-1939a

1946-1952a

1952-1953b

1953-1957b

1957-1958b

1958-1959a b

1959-1961a b

1961-1962a

1962-1964a j

1964-1968a b

1968-1972a b

1972-1974a g

1974-1975a g

1975-1976a g k

Umbro

1976-1977g

Umbro

1977-1979 g

Umbro

1979-1981 g h

Umbro

1981-1982g

Umbro

1982-1983b

Chester City

1983

Formerly Chester

Bukta

1983-1984a

Hobott

1984-1986a

Hobott

1986-1987a

Hobott

1987-1988b

Hobott

1988-1989a

Ribero

1989-1990b

Ribero

1990-1991b

Ribero

1991-1992b

En-s

1992-1993b

En-s

1993-1994b

En-s

1994-1995b

Le Coq Sportif

August 1995f

Le Coq Sportif

Sept 1995-1996a

Le Coq Sportif

1996-1997b j

Errea

1997-1998b e

Super League

1998-1999b

Super League

1999-2000b

Secca

2000-2001b

Virma

Aug-Sept 2001a

Virma

Oct 2001-2002a

Virma

2002-2004b

Prostar

2004-2005b d e

Nike

2005-2007c

Nike

2007-2008c

Prostar

2008-2009c

Vandanel

2009-2010c

Background

In 1885 Chester Rovers and
Old King's Scholars amalgamated to form Chester FC. For the first five
years of their existence the club played only friendly matches until in
1890 they joined the Combination. Five years later, Chester won their
first honour - the Cheshire Senior Cup. In 1898, Chester moved to a new
ground but were forced to disband only twelve months later when the ground
was sold for housing.

In 1901, the club was reformed, adopting dark green
and white colours that earned them the nickname of "The Ivies."
In 1920 the club moved up the the Lancashire League and adopted a black
and white strip. After the First World War, the club became founder members
of the Cheshire County League, winning the championship in 1922, 1926
and 1927. In 1930 Charlie Hewitt was appointed manager and he introduced
the much loved blue and white stripes. A year later the club were elected
to Division Three (North), taking the place of Nelson.

For the first ten years of their League career,
Chester never finished below tenth place but after the war, the club struggled
and when the regional divisions were scrapped in 1958, Chester found themselves
in Division Four. A change to green and gold shirts in 1959 did little
to change their fortunes. indeed, they had to seek re-election three times
in succession between 1960 and 1963 and must count themselves fortunate
to have retained their league place. During the Sixties the club turned
out in a variety of strips but results stayed mediocre.

The traditional stripes returned in 1972 and three
years later the club achieved promotion for the first time in their history.
Seven years were spent in Division Three.

In 1974 a competition was organised to design a crest for the team, the winning entry coming from the School of Art in nearby Handbridge. It features a pair of frolicking seals inspired by the club's nickname ("The Seals") which derives from the name of their ground at Sealand Road.

In 1982 the club was relegated to the Fourth Division. The following year the club became Chester City and a new strip of plain blue shirts and white
shorts was introduced. To go with the new title a new crest was designed in 1983 with various elements associated with city derived from the Chester coat of arms. These include the wolf's head, which dates back to Norman times. Variations in colour have appeared but the crest has remained fundamentally unchanged since then.

Results continued to be poor and in 1984 the
club was forced to seek re-election for the seventh time. In 1986, however,
City's fortunes improved and they returned to Division Three. In 1990,
history cruelly repeated itself when the club's ground was sold for development
and for two year's they shared Macclesfield's ground while their new Deva
Stadium was built. Sadly, the year they returned to Chester also brought
relegation.

In 1994, "The Seals" went back up to
what was now (Nationwide) Division Two only to drop back to the basement
after a single season. Five years later, Chester narrowly avoided closure
due to financial problems. In July 1999 the club was bought by controversial
American Terry Smith. At the end of the season the club finished bottom
of Nationwide Division Three and were relegated to the Conference. In
October 2001, with the club struggling near the bottom of the Conference,
Smith sold the club to Stephen Vaughan, a Liverpool business man. After
replacing the sky-blue and black strip with a more traditional design,
Vaughan's new management team started to turn the club around. In 2004
Chester won the Conference championship and returned to the League to
play in what was now League Two. Five years later, however, they finished 23rd and dropped back into the Conference.

Over the summer of 2009 Stephen Vaughan transferred legal ownership of the club to his son, Stephen Vaughan Junior prior to placing the club in administration (an attempt to avoid the FA rule that bars anyone who takes a club into administration twice from being a director, Vaughan senior having previously taken Barrow into administration). Furthermore Vaughan became the first person to fail the FA's "Fit and Proper Person" test after being convicted of VAT fraud. This led the FA to withdraw the club's licence although it was later restored just in time for the new season when the club were handed a 25-point penalty. This was not, however the end of the saga: on 12 February the club, rooted at the bottom of the Blue Square Premier Division, was suspended by the Conference for five alleged breaches of the league's rules. The crisis was precipitated the players went on strike in protest against the failure of the club to pay their wages for three months, forcing the postponement of their game at Forest Green. Their home match with Wrexham was also postponed after the local council issued a prohibition order on the Deva Stadium after the police refused to provide coverage because of the failure by the club to pay for policing costs earlier in the season. The supporters group, City Fans United, frustrated that their attempts to take over the club were rebuffed, called for Chester City to be wound up so that a new, community-owned club could be formed.

On Friday 26 February, 2010, the members of the Blue Square Conference voted to expel the club and their record was expunged. A fortnight later, Chester FC was wound up in the High Court, opening the way for the supporters to set up a "phoenix club" to play at the Deva Stadium. Following poll of fans, the new club adopted the title Chester FC.